The present invention concerns an electric-motor furniture flap drive. A furniture flap drive of that kind is disclosed for example in Austrian patent application No A 696/2007.
At the present time, furniture flap drives are on the market in different design configurations, depending on which respective type of furniture flap is to be driven by the furniture flap drive. As described in detail in DE 20 2006 000 535 U1, furniture flaps are now known in different design configurations or types.
Thus, for example, there are furniture flaps which have become known as top upwardly pivotable flaps in which the flap is fixed by hinges to the underside of the cupboard top.
In addition, there are flaps which have a two-part structure, wherein a first flap portion is hingedly rotatably connected to the furniture carcass and a second flap portion is hingedly rotatably connected to the first flap portion. When the flap is moved into the open position, the first flap portion is pivoted upwardly away from the furniture carcass, while the second flap portion is also pivoted upwardly towards the furniture carcass so that the flap is folded together in the open position (upwardly foldable flap).
In the case of top upwardly pivotable flaps, the flap is pivoted rearwardly beyond the furniture carcass.
If the flap preferably performs a movement throughout its entire opening or closing travel in substantially parallel relationship with the front side of the furniture carcass, that is referred to as an upward lift flap.
That terminology is also to be employed in the context of the present invention, in which respect the list of different types of furniture flaps is not to be interpreted as being final.
The advantage of the above-mentioned Austrian patent application No 696/2007 is that it is possible to be able to replace a defective electric drive, arranged in the first component, of a furniture flap drive without having to remove the second component of the furniture flap drive, which has the control arm and can also be referred to as the mechanical control unit, from the furniture carcass.
Depending on the respective type of furniture flap, different mechanical control units are used, which differ from each other in particular in the differing design of the control lever or the lever mechanism of which the control lever is a part in order to be able to perform the respective characteristic movement of the furniture flap. The mechanical control unit is usually also always provided with a spring pack serving to compensate for or take out the weight of the furniture flap within certain limits.
In the state of the art, it is necessary to manually establish what type of flap is involved in order, for example, to implement different presettings at the electric motor, depending on the type of furniture flap that the electric motor is to be used to drive. That applies both in regard to furniture flap drives which are designed in one piece and also in relation to those which are designed in two pieces, as are shown in Austrian patent application No A 696/2007. That entails the problem that under some circumstances this can involve incorrect input of operating parameters or the like.
The object of the invention is to overcome the above problem.